I'd like to see Jay Leno play a guitar solo like that.
I'd like to see Jay Leno play a guitar solo like that.
There should be a constitutional law passed tonight that requires NBC to play Conan's speech at the start of Leno's first episode back on the Tonight Show.
Bless you Conan. Blonan.
i feel so validated
i'll miss conan, and i will be first in line for the premiere of his new show or i'll be working for him
Meen Bellpeppers: btw only idoits make typoes
It's more than a shame that NBC ruined the legacy of The Tonight Show for another six-to-ten years of Leno followed by a host nobody will feel deserves it. This is more the beginning of the end for The Tonight Show than anything else.
R.I.P. The Tonight Show
Long live Fox's The Tonight Program starring Conan O'brien, coming in September '10.
Last edited by suavepebble; January 23, 2010 at 2:35 AM.
The BEGINNING of the end???Originally Posted by suavepebble
Conan's speech was the best. And Neil Young was perfect. It's kinda sad, 'cause I feel like Conan was trying really hard to fit some kind of Universal Studio Friendly-to-America model and it wasn't coming off, and this week he just did his thing 'cause he had nothing to lose and it was really really great. It's like a peek at a Tonight Show that could've been. Gives me hope if he gets a deal somewhere else. I kinda hope he just works for a cable company that'll let him do whatever he wants. Anyway, that guy is 100% class. I also loved the "Dear Internet" thing.
Conan has now delivered two of the most memorable final episode speeches in television history. Sadly, within a year of each other.
Conan is the best. I don't really have much more to say than that.
One last thing i would like to add, and it really only came to me tonight. The reason, at least for me, that this is so sad is because Conan was the only host of a talk show that resonated with me. Back in high school i would wait out leno so i could watch Conan and i enjoyed the hell of him. when it was announced he would get the Tonight show i was over the moon. when the Tonight show with Conan started i vowed one day i will see it in person. now that won't happen, granted if he goes to fox i could see him but it won't be the same.
nothing that has been seen a thousand times before but thats my personal story
·'No, you're wrong Shmee. They're not bad people. They love me. They don't really mean it when they tell me to get kidnapped.'
I deleted my series recording.
DaggerofChrist unmasked
I got a little emotional when Conan was getting choked up. Everything that he said was so incredible and applicable to everyone, and I think it speaks to Conan's class and professionalism that he could be so well-spoken when he was giving up something that clearly means the world to him. I look forward to whatever is in the future for Conan and I can only hope that, somehow, Jay Leno will reclaim his soul from the devil.
And I don't think this was done by accident. Conan knows his late night history.
- Tom Hanks was the lead guest on the final "Late Night with David Letterman" and the lead guest on the final "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", both final shows for NBC.
- Robin Williams was a guest on the penultimate "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and was a guest on the penultimate "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien".
- Will Ferrell was the first guest on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", and his last guest on the show as well.
- Will Ferrell did a crazy bit on the final "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and did a crazy bit on the final "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien".
Saddest part of my evening, even after that speech.
Full Asians are no longer hip. Blasians are the rage.
(I know this because the E channel told me so.)
Out of shape white guys were never hip.
(I learned this from Bonanza reruns.)
Conan proved that when leaving it is possible to take the high road. Class move by a class guy.
Everyone thinks of it as the Obama font.
Sorry for the crappy composite job. Feel free to improve if you wish.
I'm working with GIMP software.
Permit me a moment to reflect:
When I was a kid, Late Night meant Carson, followed by Letterman. My dad would let me stay up and watch Carson and Letterman with him sometimes and while I always enjoyed Carson, I always loved Letterman more because he was so weird. I liked weird. I thought of myself as weird and took a lot of pride in being weird like Dave.
What I remember about Carson though is how much he clearly liked and cared about his job. The best times on Carson that I saw as a kid where when a joke would tank and Carson would ad-lib something or where a guest would say something unexpected and unscripted and Johnny would react. You felt like you knew Johnny because he was always a geniune presence, and I think that's why people really loved him, not because he had just been THE late night guy for 30 some years.
When Leno took over, I switched to Letterman without a thought because I never liked Leno and neither did my dad. The old man thought he was "phony" and I felt the same. I was never mad at him though and didn't really think too much about why I felt he was phony. We didn't watch Conan at first because, well, we were people in the Midwest and as a rule we do not deal with change that well.
Towards the end of my high school years (97-98), some friends started telling me how great Conan was and I started watching and was instantly hooked. Conan had everything I loved about Letterman and Carson in one package: Charming, witty, engaging and weird, but more than that, he was self-deprecating, which was something I had never really seen on TV that much before, or at least I can't recall seeing it in the same way Conan did it. Conan was like a late night host made especially for me, and not only was he funny and engaging, he exposed me to a lot of great comedians and actors and in a way acted as a launching pad for a lot of their careers. When he got the Tonight Show, I was elated and sure he'd one day grow into the true heir to Carson and that America would finally see what I saw in Conan from the first time I watched Late Night.
What I didn't count on was NBC having been in crisis mode and needing ratings NOW NOW NOW and not having any conception of the longview when they put the wheels in motion to create the problem they found themselves in. I don't entirely blame them for going with the boring familiar guy they think is going to get them the ratings back, but I think they're in for a surprise if any of those Leno fans watched this last show.
Conan would have grown into being the new Carson given time. Leno got the job because his jokes, such as they are, don't require any thought or feeling whatsoever and NBC made the mistake of thinking that what people loved about Carson was that he wasn't particularly threatening. What people loved about Johnny and what they connected with was that he was never a guy putting on a persona and telling jokes, he was Johnny Carson, whether you liked him or not. He never tried to change who he was to suit what focus groupers thought was his audience and in fact a lot of his characters (like Art Fern) were parodies of those kinds of people: Slick, studied phonies who only exist to sell you some junk you don't need.
The conception I've always had of Leno is that he's a guy who doesn't care about his job, doesn't particularly even like it or get any enjoyment out of it and just tells the easiest, least offensive jokes in the world and cashes his check. Leno is not a guy who gives a shit about his audience or has any real emotion about his comedy, he just tells his little jokes and never has to worry about saving a joke that has bombed because his jokes are designed to be the comedic equivalent of tapioca pudding. I'm not some Michael O'Donohue/Bill Hicks acolyte who requires all his comedy to be edgy or dangerous, but god damn, Jay can't even muster up enough energy to make you think he wants to pretend he gives a shit. He's the phoniest entertainer I've ever seen in my life, which for some unfathomable reason makes him appealing to a lot of people, but I never get the sense that any Leno fan actually likes Jay, they just like that he doesn't challenge them or throw off their waking coma in any way with any distracting emotion or sentiment. In a lot of ways, Jay is the living embodiment of one of Carson's sleazy huckster characters, he's just not in on the joke.
Last night Conan proved a lot of things that a lot of people in the last few months have been speculating about: He proved he'll always be a better entertainer than Jay Leno, he proved that he was the true heir to Carson, and he proved that sometimes you can't fight the bland, but eventually, quality will win out in the end.
NBC can't stop Conan. Leno fans can't stop Conan. Conan's the future of late night, whether NBC recognizes it or not.
Thank you for showing me that people like me who actually care about comedy with heart, soul and brains are not alone. Thank you for showing me that it's still possible to be yourself in showbiz and for people to accept and love you for who you are and not some focus-grouped to death pre-fab talking head. Thank you for being you, Coco. I'll see you in September.
Last edited by RoyalDutchOfDukes; January 23, 2010 at 4:45 PM.
It always meant a lot to me that Conan's personality and sensibility was on TV every night. I discovered Conan's show in the 9th grade and it immediately resonated to me as something special. I would learn to appreciate how important it is that this smart, creative and weird brand of comedy was on a major network five nights a week.
I think it made the comedy landscape better. It made it safer for this kind of comedy to exist in the mainstream. This is all thanks due to Conan's charm and intelligence, as well as his hard work.
That farewell speech encapsulated so much of what I love about Conan's approach. I love the fact that he told his audience to not let this make them cynical. Conan's comedy never came from cynicism. It was all about how sincerely awesome it was to come about with something new and great, whether that's the Masturbating Bear, Pimpbot, Frankenstein Wastes a Minute of Our Time, Triumph, etc.
That's why I'm looking forward to the future. Conan and the great people he chooses to surround himself with will come up with more amazing ideas. The montage of Tonight Show clips he played ended with "To Be Continued." That was perfect.
"You gotta love shoe throw!" - Jimmy Pardo
"I hate cynicism, It's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
"Make Pretend" - Todd Glass
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